Three shields and two jewels from A Link to the Past.
Red Shield: This shield is an upgrade from Link's starting shield. I think the way Link obtains the shield is the most interesting part of the item. If Link throws his original shield into a lake, the fairy that lives in the lake will appear holding an upgraded version of the shield. She will ask Link if the shield she is holding is his and remind him that she likes honest people. If Link is honest and answers no, the fairy rewards his honesty by giving him the upgraded shield. If Link is dishonest, the fairy punishes Link by keeping the shield he threw into the lake. This is a direct reference to the tale of the Honest Woodcutter in Aesop's Fables. Aesop's fables are full of great stories to pull out and use almost entirely whole cloth in your games. Since they are almost as old as dirt, you can also read them for free because they are in the public domain.
One could also have this shield be dropped by mask raiders that abandon all honor and attack a village in the dark of night. When it is discovered the shield bears the colors of an allied clan, the village elders send a small party to discover the reason for the attack. Hopefully they can discover the truth before the prospect of all-out war is inevitable.
Mirror Shield: In the Zelda franchise, mirror shields are the best in every way. That doesn't always have to be true. The mirror finish on this shield can reflect any manner of energy attacks but is extremely brittle. This mirror shield could be an excellent shield for mages on the fringes of a battle or for soldiers fighting in far-future wars where laser weaponry rules and ballistic ammunition is all but forgotten.
Other uses of the mirror shield could include an area themed around the light/dark duality. Features of this location could include reflecting beams of light from their sources to light sensitive gems that unlock doors or provide rewards, reflect light to illuminate darkened areas, and block or reflect harmful beams of light. This could even be one key to overcoming the final encounter involving a being of pure light and another of pure darkness. One must reflect the light being's attacks into the otherwise invulnerable darkness creature.
Crystal: In a Link to the Past, these crystals hold seven maidens that are the descendants of seven sages. That feels pretty outdated to me. There is no reason to have these crystal be maiden souls only. Virginity and value are not directly correlated and I don't want to spend time perpetuating bad ideas. Here are the facts that we are keeping: seven soul gems, seven important sage souls, seven guardian creatures in seven interesting locations, and a sealed tower with seven slots for seven gems. That seems like the important meat of the story with as little of the toxic masculinity as possible.
Here is the story that I would tell. Long ago there were eight powerful sages that lead a small but prosperous nation. The eight sages ruled in harmony for many generations, their aging slowed by their mastery of the supernatural and their sheer force of will. The nation experienced a golden age under the peaceful rule of the eight sages. Eventually, one of the sages succeeded in formulating an elixir of immortality. History is not sure if the singular sage meant to share their knowledge or keep it only for themself. All that is known for sure is that the other seven sages gathered together in a ritual to bind the singular sage inside their tower for all time. This ritual required each sage sacrifice their life so that their souls could be put into the gems that would complete the seal. The filled soul gems were taken to places important to the singular sage by the most loyal retainer of each deceased sage. There the soul gems were to be hidden and guarded by the retainer for all time. The ritual granted each retainer agelessness, but every extra year that passed stole more and more of their humanity. The retainers had time to build up layers of defenses around their wards before they fully succumbed to the ritual and became inhuman monstrosities only concerned with guarding their precious soul gem. The once prosperous nation fell into a steep decline without the wise leadership of the eight sages. Internal power struggles weakened the nation so that it was unable to defend against invaders that were only concerned with stealing what they could carry and destroying what they could not. With the controlling influence of civilization gone, the nation became a wild land of monsters and bandits. The locations of the seven dungeons has been lost to time. It is theorized that if someone was able to locate each dungeon, gather all seven soul gems, and take them to the lost tower of the singular sage, the seal could be broken and the sage's tower explored. The secret of immortality and wealth enough to last at least one-hundred lifetimes are just some of the things that await anyone bold enough to take on such an impossible enterprise.
If that story doesn't work for you, these crystals could be a strange crystalline being made from the shattered gate that once held a maddeningly alien alternate dimension at bay. It could also be a healing focus on a battlefield, a domination point in a bloody tournament, or just a bunch of glittering crystals.
Fighter's Shield: Your uncle's old shield that he gives to you to make sure you can protect yourself on your first big outing from home. This is the basic starter shield in a Link to the Past. I tried to make it simple and interesting at the same time. This is a great shield for a character's heirloom shield. It could also be an ecclesiastical shield for a religiously inclined individual.
The stark contrast speaks to a strong duality like light and dark or life and death. Maybe this is the shield carried by members of the Raven's Flock, who see life and death as black and white. To them, undeath and unnatural extensions of life are an abomination that must be purged from this world. Violently if necessary.
Moon Pearl: This pearl allows Link to maintain his true form in the dark world instead of being transformed into a caricature of himself. This pearl can work as a protective gem, warding the bearer from harmful environmental effects.
It could also be a magical focus that helps mages employ more powerful storm and weather magic. A sufficiently powerful storm gem could control the weather for an entire region. Allowing the region to escape the whims of mother nature. This of course would upset the natural balance and draw the ire of druidic circles, nature spirits, and extra-planar beings concerned with balance above all things. A region under the storm stone's protection would probably have much work for groups willing to deal with the problems causes by interventionist druids, mad nature spirits, and beings from another world.
This gem could also be a dragon's orb of power. The bearer of such an orb takes on some draconic aspects and gains the ability to dominate dragons. They could force dragons to grant them boons or do their bidding. One should take great care in using such powers on dragons as they can be very wrathful and very patient. Any use of such an orb draws the ire of all of dragon kind, not just the dragon under its direct control.
This could also be one of a set of draconic spheres that let the bearer make a single wish if they gather all seven together.
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I really got carried away on the side story for the crystals. I hope it was something you could see using or was at least inspiring.
Please don't profit off my work without my consent.
As always, be excellent to everyone.
-Ceph
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